The Gift
by Kiyamasho
Summary: It's nearly Christmas and Bruce is trying to find the perfect gift for Damian. Will the young boy enjoy it? Will Bruce get anything in return? COMPLETE


**I just got my laptop fixed and Christmas is nearly here! What better way to celebrate both occasions with a special christmas themed Batman fic? Enjoy reading and please leave a review!**

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><p>Bruce slipped into the dark bedroom and stood silently in the doorway for several moments. His son, Damian Wayne lay curled up beside Titus on his large bed. Bruce edged closer and couldn't help but think that he had never seen Damian looked so relaxed. Free from his usual scowl, Damian looked like the 10 year old he was supposed to be. Innocent. Carefree. A tiny hint of a smile touched the corners of Bruce's lips. He thought to move closer but at that moment Titus lifted his large head and spotting Bruce let out a soft whine, tail thumping gently against Damian's leg. Immediately Bruce stiffened but to his relief the young boy didn't wake. With a barely audible sigh Bruce turned and left the room, gently shutting the room door.<p>

Seconds later Damian's eyes popped up and he sat up with a suspicious scowl on his face. "What the heck was he doing creeping in here? If he thought I wouldn't wake up he's lamer than I thought." Without a second's hesitation Damian flung the covers off his body and jumped out of bed. Titus lifted his head to bark but stopped when Damian turned to him and snapped, "Hush! You'll let him know we're on to him you silly dog." Quietly Damian slid over to his closet and after shucking his pajamas threw on some dark clothes.

As he sat on the floor to yank on some shoes Damian grumbled, "I bet he found some other bad guy and he doesn't want to share." He glanced at Titus who sat beside him staring curiously. Damian sighed and shook his head. "Obviously I can't wear my Robin suit. I gave it to Alfred earlier to mend some tears." A smirk spread across his mouth. "But I don't need a suit to follow _father_." He stood up abruptly. "Stay here Titus, I'll be back soon."

Several hours later found Damian standing behind a pillar at a local 24 hour department store staring at his father's back in confusion. After leaving the manor-sans bat suit- Bruce had come straight here. And to Damian's carefully trained eye, wandered around aimlessly. Several sales people, mostly women Damian noted in disgust, would go over to the older man but each time Bruce would only smile politely and send them on their way. By the time they had gone around the store three times Damian was ready to reveal himself to his father and offer his assistance. It was the Christmas season and all the cheerful decorations and music were grating on his nerves. Damian shook his head; clearly Father wasn't as smart as he looked or he would have found whatever he was looking for already.

Damian crouched low and when no one was looking ran straight to a clothing rack beside the dark knight. To his delight his father pulled out a cell phone. Finally, something interesting! Moments later Damian heard his father say, "Clark. Sorry to be bothering you at this hour."

A frown tilted Damian's lips downwards. Superman? Why did his father need to talk to that overgrown bafoon for? He concentrated hard to hear both sides of the conversation.

_B…Bruce? What are you ca…late for?_

"…I need help."

Damian could almost see Clark's amused smile at Bruce's admission.

_Bruce Wayne ne…my he...p? …ver thought the day would come. How can I help you?_

Damian peered around the clothing and could clearly see the scowl on Bruce's face.

"I'm trying to buy a gift but I'm having difficultly deciding what to get."

Immediately Damian wanted to leap out of the clothing and demand that his father tell him who the gift was for. The young boy scowled deeply. It had better not be for that whore Selina Kyles. He couldn't stand her throaty laughter or the way she pawed his father at dinner parties.

Damian's attention was recaptured by the conversation when Clark asked who the gift was for. For some reason Damian's heart sped up and he shifted closer in eager anticipation. After what seemed like an eternity Bruce admitted, "It's for Damian."

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><p>For a moment Clark said nothing and Bruce steeled himself for laughter. Instead Clark said gently, "For your son? What does he enjoy?"<p>

Bruce smiled wryly at the question and took a step back to avoid being run over by some teens. As they disappeared giggling around the corner he replied, "He enjoys fighting…training…harassing Tim."

Clark said, "Well then why not give him a weapon?"

The words had barely been spoken before Bruce was shaking his head. Realizing that Clark couldn't see him Bruce said, "No, I don't want to give him weapon, he already has plenty. I just…I don't know Clark." He paused to his fingers through his hair in frustration not noticing the enamored giggles of some nearby saleswomen. Bruce continued, "This is his first Christmas with me. I want it to be special…Normal. Every kid deserves to have a Christmas like that."

"Bruce, you're Batman and he's Robin. There's nothing normal about your lives. Why don't you ge…" The rest of what Clark was saying was drowned out by screams coming from the restroom nearby. As Bruce hung up the phone and made his way towards the restrooms he didn't see the small figure sliding out from a nearby clothing rack and disappear into the growing crowd.

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><p>A few weeks later Damian sat cross legged on his bed struggling with the tape. A soft knock sounded on his door and the current boy wonder scowled and snapped, "Come in."<p>

Alfred pushed the door open and cleared his throat. "It's time for dinner Master Damian; everyone is already seated."

Damian let out a grunt and said, "I'll go down as soon as I finish wrapping this." He held up a wrapping paper concoction and Alfred nodded seriously.

"Of course…I will inform the others you will be down shortly." It wasn't until he was walking down the stairs that Alfred allowed himself to smile. The older man entered the dining room and after a brief check on the turkey cooling on the side board he walked over to where Bruce sat at the head of the table, fiddling with his wine glass.

The younger man looked up at the touch of Alfred's hand on his arm. Bruce frowned and asked, "Is he coming down? Or should I go get him myself?"

Alfred shook his head saying, "No Master Bruce; Master Damian will be down shortly. He is wrapping a gift."

Immediately Dick Grayson, the first boy wonder who was seated beside Bruce, perked up. "A gift? Do you think it's for me? He looks up to me you know."

Bruce shrugged but he wondered silently who Damian had gotten the gift for. He wasn't exactly fond of anyone here. His eyes cut over to where Stephanie Brown sat, teasingly flirting with Tim. Perhaps Damian had gotten the gift for her...As his son Damian wasn't adverse to a pretty face. Before he could speculate further Damian entered the room with a familiar scowl on his face and Titus by his side. The dog whined softly and Damian's hand absently scratched his giant head. Bruce opened his mouth to greet his youngest son but Jason Todd beat him to it.

Jason narrowed his eyes and said cooly, "It's about time you got here; if you thi-"

"Jason." Bruce said his name softly but the former boy wonder snapped his mouth shut and looked down at his plate. Bruce gave a small smile and motioned for Damian to come sit beside him. To his relief the young boy did so without griping. Damian grabbed his fork and looked impatiently at Alfred. "Well? Are we going to eat or not?"

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><p>Later, once all the food had been consumed Bruce led his family to the living room where beneath a decorated behemoth tree there lay gifts. Cassandra who stood slightly behind him gasped quietly and Bruce smiled. He turned towards the group and said, "It's Christmas Eve but as many of you know it's a tradition of the Wayne Household to open one gift the night before Christmas."<p>

There was excited chatter from everyone as they seated themselves close to the tree and once everyone was settled Bruce pulled a gift from the pile. "This one is for...Barbara." He tossed the surprised redhead the gift and she caught it easily. As she pulled the wrapping paper apart Bruce grabbed another one and couldn't help but grin as he read the name. "Alfred, catch." The beloved butler's eyes grew large but he easily caught the gift. One by one the small bat family received their gifts. Finally Bruce pulled out one last one.

"This one is for you Damian."

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><p>Damian took the bag with trepidation. Settling it on his lap he was almost afraid to open it but immediately he scorned himself. Afraid to open a stupid gift? He was the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia; his grandfather was the head of The League of Assassins for pete's sake! Without further hesitation he shoved his hand into the bag and felt his fingers close around something hard and definitely covered in leather. Frowning Damian pulled it out and found himself staring at a baseball glove.<p>

It was...strange. Damian turned over the glove in his hands confused as to why his father would give him such a thing. Before he could ask Bruce reached out and squeezed his shoulder, "When I was growing up my father and I would sometimes toss a ball back and forth...I thought it would be a nice way for the two of us to spend time together." He paused, a wry grin spreading across his face. "Besides, of course, taking down criminals together."

Damian stared at his father, a lump growing in his throat. "I-I..." He paused to clear his throat before finishing gruffly, "I suppose it will do." He clutched the baseball glove tighter in his hands and held it a little closer; silently he vowed to kill any who touched the glove.

Bruce nodded and made a move to stand up but was forced to sit back down by Alfred. The older gentleman pressed a gift into his hands and said smiling, "It is your turn master Bruce."

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><p>Bruce blinked down in surprise at the gift in his hands. Small and rectangular in shape Bruce took notice that it was badly wrapped. On one side was written simply, <em>For Father.<em> Carefully Bruce pulled the wrapping paper off and set it aside. In his hands was left a small leather box. On the front was a clasp and he easily opened it. Nestled inside the box was a deluxe shaving kit. Fingering the tools Bruce remembered mentioning at breakfast a week or two before that his own shaving kit needed to be replaced but that same day the Joker had launched an attack and all thoughts of new shaving kits had been shoved from his mind.

He smiled at Damian. "Thank you, this will do nicely."

Damian nodded and said bluntly, "It was getting annoying seeing your bleeding chin every other morning."

Jason overheard and burst out laughing, "I guess The Batman can't be good at everything can he?"

Immediately Dick said, "Well at least he's got only part of his face exposed unlike some condom heads we can speak of." The words had barely left his mouth before Barbara punched him in the shoulder.

"Dick! Don't be rude..."

A smug smile touched Jason's mouth. "Well at least my nickname doesn't have to do with genitalia."

"Well at least my costume doesn't make it seem like I'm over compensating for something."

Jason narrowed his eyes and stood up. "Are you trying to say you're larger than me Grayson? I'm not afraid to whip mine out and prove you wrong." He grabbed his belt and began fumbling with it.

He was immediately knocked down by Cass who said quietly, "Anyone who shows their parts...must want them removed. That can easily be arranged."

"I'll gladly help," joined in Barbara who glared at Dick.

Bruce chuckled under his breath and glanced at Damian who sat there with a disgusted expression on his face. Leaning towards him Bruce said quietly, "Why don't we get out of here and do a quick patrol? I'm sure the others can handle themselves."

Damian's eyes brightened but he kept his face serious as he nodded. "Fine. I was planning to go out and do it on my own but I suppose I could join you."

Quietly, father and son slipped from the room and in a matter of minutes were outside beneath the starry winter sky.

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><p><strong>And that's that! I hope you all enjoyed this one shot as much as I enjoyed writing it. Merry Christmas everyone! <strong>


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